1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to an easily removeable and attachable and adjustable base plate member or accessory for the support jack on a trailer hitch.
2. Prior Art:
Trailer hitches are necessary for attaching trailers to vehicles for moving the trailers.
A common component on a trailer hitch is a trailer support jack leg. This jack leg is used to support the trailer hitch above the ground when the trailer is not hitched up to a vehicle. Such a trailer support leg is adjustable in height to allow the leg to be raised by the jack up out of the way when the trailer is hitched to a vehicle for movement and lowered down into ground engagement when support of the hitch by the leg is desired. These jacks may be mechanical, hydraulic or electric.
The trailer jack leg typically rests on some sort of base which in turn rests on the ground. This base may be a wheel (see for example FIG. 4, U. S. Pat. No. 3,458,173 issued July 29, 1969 to D. W. Kornovich et al) or a laterally extended, generally flat, base plate member (see FIGS. 1-3 of the '173 Patent). The use of a wheel or a small base plate may not provide the type of support required in setting up trailers in many circumstances. For example, a wheel may sink too deeply into the surface on which the leg sits. Additionally, other supports may be too unsteady, requiring additional supports to shore up the support leg.
The prior art in this area provide for the uses of some base plates. However, these flat supports are not easily attachable or detachable or have no fastening means for fixing the base plate to the jack leg when the leg is raised. Additionally, the present base plates are not adjustable and hence the height of the trailer hitch and the angle at which the trailer stands cannot be varied, unless a separate, possibly adhoc and unsteady base is added below the normal base of the support leg. Additionally, some of the base plate connectors were relatively weak, cumbersome and expensive in construction, and/or unsuitable.
The present invention addresses these problems.